On March 13, 2020, President Donald J. Trump declared the outbreak of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) in the United States to be a national emergency. Unfortunately, criminals and scammers are trying to take advantage of the crisis for their own profit. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas through its United States Attorney, Ryan Patrick, has made it a top priority to detect, investigate, and prosecute anyone who attempts to exploit the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak to defraud other people.
For example, there are reports of fraudsters falsely claiming to be from legitimate health organizations, selling ...